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Francis D. Moore, MD

Arch Surg. 1983;118(9):1013-1018.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

By about 1750, medicine and surgery in the American Colonies had become somewhat more sophisticated than in the past. Smallpox inoculation had been introduced by a surgeon in 1721¹ and was widely used, although vaccination, introduced in 1798, soon surpassed it.² Digitalis, extensively used after its description by William Withering (1741-1799) in 1783, was coming into cultivation and common use in this country. Chemistry was undergoing its birth pangs at the hands of Lavoisier (1743-1794) and Priestley (1733-1804) in France and England. Some roots, herbs, berries, and barks, such as those of belladonna and cinchona, were extracted or used raw as drugs. Heavy metals, especially arsenic and mercury, were used by both physicians and surgeons for a variety of purposes, some of which might seem ridiculous today. Amputation for compound fracture, closed reduction for simple fracture, and lancing of abscesses were often performed competently.

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Footnotes
Accepted for publication April 12, 1983.

Dr Moore is Moseley professor of surgery, emeritus, at Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Read before the annual meeting of the Halsted Society, Boston, Sept 23, 1982.

Reprint requests to Countway Library, 10 Shattuck St, Boston, MA 02115 (Dr Moore).

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